Daniel Cormier with the Strikeforce Grand Prix title – Photo via Strikeforce.com
A heavyweight match, which had the possibility of happening last year as part of the Strikeforce Grand Prix Tournament, is now a bout that American Kickboxing Academy head trainer Javier Mendez would like to see put together for his fighter Daniel Cormier (10-0).
Cormier had been scheduled to face former UFC champ Frank Mir on November 3 on Showtime, but Mir was forced to withdraw from the match due to injury.
Since then, matchmakers with the UFC and Strikeforce have seemingly failed to find a new opponent for the undefeated Olympian.
Mendez talked about the matchup on Tuesday as a guest on “The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo“.
“I would like for Daniel to face Fabricio Werdum or Frank Mir [injured], or maybe Shane Carwin [booked]. I want Daniel to fight someone who is going to challenge him, who is going to motivate him to train. Werdum is that guy who is up there, so for me that’s the guy I want. Werdum will test him in the standup and on the ground, but Daniel has great wrestling. The standup could be the area that decides the fight and I kinda give that edge to Daniel.”
Also featured on the podcast were Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp to talk about her promotions third event, and MMAMania.com reporter Brian Hemminger.
Cormier was last in action this past May when he claimed the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix title by defeating Josh Barnett via unanimous decision.
Werdum fought this pats May, stopping former undefeated fighter Mike Russow at UFC 147 in Brazil. Werdum participated in the Grand Prix tournament and was eliminated by Alistair Overeem in June 2011.
Cormier replaced Overeem after the Dutch fighter failed to agree on his next bout due to injury. Cormier went on to stop Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva and then Barnett to claim the tournament, while Overeem joined the UFC by retiring Brock Lesnar at UFC 141.